ROCKVIEW UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE

SMBAT

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this unit you should be able to

1. Relate the topic and purpose for writing

2. Develop a paragraph using the topic sentence and other sign post words

3. Write a topic sentence without any difficulties.

4. Match the main idea of a piece of writing to purpose and audience

5. Organize your piece of writing in either chronological or spatial order

INTRODUCTION

Much of the communication done between lecturers and students at University is through writing.
Students take notes as they listen to lecturers; they use their writing skills to answer assignments
and test questions. Writing, therefore, is of great significance to any University student. No student
can function at University without effective writing skills. In order to become an effective writer,
always pay particular attention to the following; topic, purpose and audience.

TOPIC

A topic is a specific aspect of a subject, one that you can use for a paragraph, an essay or report.
For example your notes on an educational tour to Zimbabwe might suggest the topics: Differences
between University of Zambia and Copperbelt University or the University of Zambia‟s
curriculum.

PURPOSE

The purpose for writing is what one intends to accomplish with their writing. There are basically
five purposes for writing. These are; to inform, to persuade, to amuse or entertain, to narrate and
to describe. As you define your purposes for writing, identify a corresponding audience. There are
often several audiences for a topic and purpose. For example, a television network‟s goal is to
attract and entertain a wide audience, but entertainment means something quite different to
children, teenagers, sports fans etc. The same topic and purpose can be treated differently
depending on the audience. 21

IDENTIFICATION OF YOUR AUDIENCE

Identifying several traits of your audience can help you to effectively appeal to them when you are
writing. Once you have identified and profiled your audience readers, you can tailor your writing
to the content that will interest them, the style that will hold their attention and the vocabulary that
will best be understood. For example, suppose you are writing an informational article about
skyscrapers for young children, you might focus on how skyscrapers are built, using an informal
style and simple vocabulary. If on the other hand, your audience is the adult readership of an
architectural magazine, you might focus on the development of a single architectural feature, using
a formal style and technical language.

MATCHING YOUR MAIN IDEA TO PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE

Once you have a topic, a purpose and an audience for a piece of writing, you need to narrow your
focus to zero in on what you really want to say. In other words, you need to select and refine a
main idea that you could express as a topic sentence of a paragraph or the thesis statement of an
essay. This main idea must be closely related to your purpose and audience.

PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT

A paragraph is a series of sentences that develops a single idea or topic. In other words, a paragraph
is a unit of thought. A good paragraph, as with a good sentence and a good essay, has a structure.
The structure of a paragraph is of two parts. The topic sentence and, secondly, details to support
the topic sentence. The topic sentence is that sentence in a paragraph in which the idea of a
paragraph is expressed. Not only does the topic sentence expresses the main idea of a paragraph
but also indicates the purpose of the paragraph. Usually placed at the beginning of a paragraph, it
gives readers an overview of what they are about to read. Supporting sentences explain or develop
what is stated in the topic sentence. They do so by giving specific facts, examples or reasons related
to the topic. A paragraph may also have a concluding sentence to bring it to a close.

In the following paragraph, the topic sentence is in italics. Each of the other sentences offer specific
information that supports the general idea stated in the topic sentence.

No other invention has had more impact on modern life than Thomas Alva Edison. You probably
know that Edison inverted the light bulb. But are you aware that he also gave us the light switch,
22

the light socket and three wire system of electric wiring? Edison‟s inventions ranged from crushing
machine and underground electric trains to storage batteries and electric pens. If you have ever
ridden a train, you are indebted to Edison, for he inverted the electric railway car and the electric
rail road signal. In fact, the next time you turn on a radio, play a record, watch a movie, copy a
paper, or record a message, remember that it was Edison who inverted the radio vacuum tube, the
phonograph and the phonograph record, the motion picture camera, and the first mimeograph.

A paragraph has a unity when each sentence in it clearly contributes to the unity by saying
something about the topic. To write a unified paragraph, you must know when to include a detail
and when to omit it. The preceding paragraph on Edison begins with a clearly stated topic sentence.
It then includes only those details that relate to the idea stated in the topic sentence.

WRITING A TOPIC SENTENCE

A topic sentence states the idea that unifies the details in the other sentences of the paragraph.
Your topic sentence should neither be too general nor too narrow. A topic sentence is too general
if it is only partly developed by the details in the other sentences of the paragraph. An example of
too general a topic sentence is “There are several reasons why it pays to get a college education”
followed by sentences that discuss only one reason. A topic sentence is too narrow if it states only
part of what is discussed in the other sentences. An example of too narrow a topic sentence is
“High school rallies are enjoyable” followed by sentences that discuss not only rallies but also
sports events.

The following are examples of well constructed paragraphs with their topic sentences in italics.

Example 1

The meeting had been a very long one. Starting at nine O‟ clock in the morning, it had eventually
ended seven O‟clock in the evening. There were the usual reasons for it lasting this long. Firstly,
there had been too many items on the agenda. Secondly, there were, as the proverb says, several
„empty vessels” which as usual, “made the most sound.” These empty vessels” too, were aided by
a weak chairman who had let them meander on, go off the topic, repeat themselves and generally
bore everyone-apart from themselves. Finally, there had been a long and bitter argument between
the school of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the School of Business over the possibility of
Mathematics and Natural Sciences using some of Business‟ excess money. 23

Example 2

A library is a place where books and journals are kept. Journals are probably most used by students.
The principal differences between a book and a journal are that the latter contains more up to date
material. Books can normally be borrowed from a library while journals cannot be. Libraries are
found in all big towns and there are travelling libraries which go out from these towns to allow
people living in villages the chance to borrow books.

WRITING SUPPORTING SENTENCES

The supporting sentences of a paragraph provide the details that explain the topic. The kind of
support that you need depends on your topic sentence and the purpose of your paragraph. The basic
kinds of support are facts, examples and reasons. You may develop your paragraph with only one
kind of supporting detail, or you may use any combination of the three kinds.

a) FACTS
The most common kind of supporting sentence that you can use is the statement of fact. A fact is
something that you know with certainty. The topic sentence of the following paragraph is in italics.
The numerous facts given in the supporting sentences help you to understand the topic sentence:

Topic Sentence. Tenoctitl’, the capital of the ancient Aztec empire was a remarkable city. Inhabited
by nearly 100,000 people when the Spaniards arrived in 1519, it was larger than any Spanish City
at the time. The truly unusual feature of Tenochtitl’ is that it was built in lake Texcoco on an island
which had been enlarged by filling swampland with silt dredged from the bottom of the lake and
earth brought from the mainland in canoes.

b) EXAMPLES

Another way to support your topic sentence is to give examples. An example is something that is
typical of the whole group. An example helps readers to understand the characteristics of a group.
The writer of the following paragraph offers some examples:

Topic Sentence No insect has a voice. All the familiar sounds they make are mechanized, like the
sounds coming from the instruments in an orchestra. Certain beetles burrow into wood and make
a tapping sound as their hard head strike against the wood. The mosquitoes hum comes from the
vibration of its wings.

Example 24

c) REASONS

A third kind of supporting sentence that you can use is that which gives a reason. A reason is a
statement that explains or justifies another statement. A reason answers the question “why” for
your reader: why did that event occur? Why is this the way it is? Why should I believe that remark?
In some paragraphs each supporting sentence offers a different reason that explains what is said in
the topic sentence. In other paragraphs only one or two supporting sentences actually offer reasons;
the remaining supporting sentences further explain those reasons.
The topic sentence of the following paragraphs is in italics. The supporting sentences of the
paragraph give reasons that explain the topic sentence.

Topic sentence: In the Northwest Passage, the sea route that threads its way through the

Canadian Arctic, danger is never very far away for ships and their crew.

Reason: The weather alone makes the voyage difficult.

Temperatures often fall to -50oC, strong winds blow off the polar ice cap, and visibility is
frequently near zero. Navigation by compass is not possible

Reason: because the magnetic North Pole lies along the route and radio communications are often
interrupted by arctic blank outs.

WRITING A CONCLUDING SENTENCE

After you have composed a topic sentence and supporting sentences, you will sometimes want a
concluding sentence that summarizes your thoughts and brings your paragraph to a close. A
concluding sentence can restate your topic sentence or can offer a final comment about the topic.
By restating the topic sentence, you remind your reader of the main point. Such a restatement, of
course, should be worded differently from the topic sentence. The concluding sentence ought to
say something but in a different way.

In the following paragraph, the concluding sentence restates the topic sentence and strengthens the
reader‟s understanding of the topic of the paragraph.

Topic sentence Have you ever thought of weeds as a source of help in meeting our petroleum

needs? According to Russel Buchanan of the United States, Department of Agriculture, „Rogweed,
sow thistle, and other common weeds could become a main stay of the chemical industry because
they are high in hydrocarbons, oils and rubber. Buchanan points that weeds are easy to grow,
despite insects, poor 25

weather and undernourished soil. Weeds maybe an alternative to crude oil as a source of petroleum

Concluding sentence

SOME TERMINOLOGIES ASSOCIATED WITH WRITING

Coherence is the clear and orderly presentation of ideas. You make a paragraph coherent by
arranging the supporting details logically and by making clear the connection between them.

b) CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Chronological order is the way of organizing events according to the time which they happen.
When you use chronological order, you begin with what is oldest or happens first, and you end
with what is newest of happens last.

Chronological order is useful for relating historical events, telling a story or explaining a process.

c) SPATIAL ORDER

Spatial order is a way of organizing details according to their location in space. It is useful for
description. To use spatial order you begin at a certain point and direct the reader‟s attention from
one item to next. The direction in which you move depends on your topic and your desired effort.
For example, if you wish to stress the great height of an object, you could stress width by describing
from side to side, and stress depth by describing from foreground to background.